Things that start with the letter R
by MagicDreamer0630
Summary: Meet Toxic Vine-ex-protegee of Poison Ivy and constant thorn in Robin's side. Or is she? Companion fic to TT:Year One; shameless-insert/Robin Pairing. Rated for suggestive scenes, drabbleish one-shot


WARNING: The following is a shameless-insert fic (it's not quite a self-insert, more like just a let's-stick-a-chara-in-just-because-I-can!) Having said that, Flames will be used to roast 'shmoes

Each 'section' is labeled by the same title as the TT comic "Year One". For further information, see said comic.

~In The Beginning: Part One~

"_**We're through. Don't bother coming home."**_

Robin wandered in thought after that, brow knitted as he tried to make sense of the situation. He could always crash at Wally's…but that was all the way in Steel City, and he didn't even have his civilian things with him. He didn't have cash for the bus, and with no powers he was more or less abandoned for the streets.

"Now there's a sight I'm never tired of seeing."

Robin pinched the bridge of his nose as he hung his head. Like he really needed _her_ to show up and top it all off…

"What's the matter, Boy Wonder? Usually I've got a birdarang at my throat by now." She purred from the shadows. Sighing, Robin turned towards the source of the voice, "I'm really not in the mood, Vi. Don't you have someone else to pester?"

"I suppose I could do Ivy's bit and bug the Big Bad Bat…but looks like he's gone psycho too…"

Robin raised an eyebrow, "Too?"

"You didn't think it was just him, did you?" Robin bat away the vines as they attempted to slink around his shoulders. Hearing her purr over his shoulder he turned to face the blonde, not failing to notice she had ditched her typical uniform for a sweatshirt and jeans, eye mask still securely in place around her forest green eyes. "Miss me, handsome?"

In reply he jerked his head out of the way as she leaned in to nibble on his ear. "Just because you're not a villain any more doesn't mean I trust you."

"As you shouldn't. I didn't get the name Toxic Vine for nothing." The rogue nodded wisely, hands in her sweatshirt pocket as she stepped a few paces foreword, keeping her back to him as she spoke, "It so happens that quite a few mentors have fallen into the Villain side of the coin. You'll find Kid Flash on 6th street, outside Papa's Pizza. The effects should be taking hold of Aquaman as we speak, which means you'll find Aqualad where you last saw him."

"How do you know this?"

Toxic Vine tsked, "If I told you that then I wouldn't be able to see my favorite Boy Wonder."

She reached out her hand, grabbing hold of a vine as it shot out from the top of a building. Plucking a seedpod from it she tossed it at Robin, "That should fix your injuries. It's bad enough that face of yours has to be covered by a mask without the rest of it hidden in bruises and cuts too."

And with that she was gone, leaving Robin to his thoughts.

~In The Beginning: Part Two~

"I should have stayed in the sea!" Aqualad whimpered as the quartet braced for impact…only it never came.

Looking up, they discovered the truck was held up by a perky girl with raven hair. "Hi, I'm Wonder Girl." She said, as though holding up explosive trucks was an every day occurrence.

Catching sight of the vines snaking around the truck, Robin opened his mouth to warn Wonder Girl, but he was too late. One of the vines grabbed her by the ankle and held her upside-down, the truck supported by the other vines.

Toxic Vine, decked out in her full regalia of spandex and fireproof cotton, walked over until she was at eye level with Wonder Girl. "Excuse me, Miss Sunshine and Rainbows? What gives you the right to show up from thin air and steal my opportunity like that?"

"Who the heck are you?" Speedy asked. Vine ignored him, keeping her eyes trained on Wonder Girl. She stared the girl down for a few moments before dropping her unceremoniously on the ground.

When she turned to the boys a Cheshire Cat grin grew on her face, eyes flicking from one teen hero to the next. "Now that's a sight to see." She said appreciatively, only to frown as she came to Speedy, "No, no, no. What's the point in wearing spandex if you can't even—"

Robin quickly covered her mouth, shooting her a warning glare, "Vi, there are pure souls in the vicinity."

"Friend of yours, Robin?" Kid Flash asked, slightly put-out that he was holding the spotlight. "No, more like former enemy."

"Well if you're gonna be that way, I may as well introduce myself." The blond paused to give Kid Flash a peck on the cheek, "Hello, handsome."

"Vi." Robin barked in warning. Rolling her eyes Toxic Vine stepped back and gave a flourishing bow, "Toxic Vine, former protégée of Poison Ivy, at your service."

~In The Beginning: Part Three~

"My sister _hates_ me!" Wonder Girl bawled, shedding crocodile tears and showering all four boys in the process. In the corner, Vine scoffed, the plants around her twitching in response to her annoyance, "Oh, yes, because that makes a perfect member of your little team. The perfect secret weapon to _cry_ them to death."

"That's enough from _you,_" Robin hissed. Vine settled against her plants, "Hey, no problem. Leave the useful chick who has a personal store of toxins that can make great knockout gasses handcuffed in the corner and let the crybaby sister of Wonder Woman join the group just because her mentor is under the same spell as the others. Even though the useful one was the same chick who warned Boy Blunder that Batman wasn't the only JLA in the loony bin."

"And if that 'useful chick' keeps talking she'll be gagged too." Robin's retort did its justice as he finally managed to dig out a handkerchief to hand to Wonder Girl. Letting loose a pout Vine turned away so she wouldn't have to see the stupidity, pride damaged.

She'd gone through a lot to find out what she did, and this was the thanks she received? See if she'd help _them_ again…

Kid Flash returned with his turtle, setting up the tank before walking over towards Vine. "So; Poison Ivy, huh?" He paled as he seemed to realize something, "Wait a sec…I'm not gonna die cuz of that kiss from earlier, am I?" Vine laughed, "Unless you see me with blood-red lipstick, you're safe," She paused to lean in closer, voice lowering to a murmur, "Besides, Boy Blunder and the Bat confiscated it all. I'd make more, but Ivy never taught me that part. Said I was too soft."

"What happened, anyway? I didn't even know Ivy had a partner."

"Well, she didn't want it out. Said that when the time came, we'd storm the world and recreate it the way it should be…but Batman caught her just after stealing a key ingredient for the plan. When they finally sent her off, I pleaded mercy. Said I'd turn a new leaf. I let 'em take the poisons and I was set to my own devices in Jump City. As long as I wasn't in Gotham, I was free.

"But then I found out my family had moved on. I didn't belong there any more—not after all it took to become what I am."

"What about you and Robin? Seems like there's a history there."

"You could say that. Ivy's big on the whole 'use what you have' theory. Given I had perfume that chemically simulated pheromones, lip gloss that intoxicated whoever I kissed on the mouth, and thousands of plants at my disposal, my biggest shtick was distracting Robin while Ivy and Bats did their thing. When I gave all that up he admitted he'd miss it. I've made it a personal goal to annoy him as much as possible after that." Vine shrugged, "That and I find men in spandex downright sexy."

~THISISAPAGEBREAK~

"You and Aqualad are coming with me." Realizing her name hadn't been included, a rope of ivy grabbed Robin by the shoulder to stop him. "Whoa, wait, what about me? Don't tell me you're leaving me here!" Boy Wonder shoved the vine off and walked over to unlock Toxic Vine's handcuffs with a knowing smirk, "Actually, you get the best job of all."

Vine narrowed her eyes, "Something tells me I'm going to have the strong urge to kill you when this is over, Bird Boy."

~THISISAPAGEBREAK~

Vine had just finished applying her makeup as the target approached. Swallowing her pride she crossed her legs, tightly sliding one leg over the other so as to make her miniskirt fall back as far as possible. She'd ditched the face covering and cape combo in favor of a sleeveless spandex corset, boots replaced with stilettos and gloves off to reveal lilac nail polish.

Green Arrow looked at her warily, keeping his distance. Vine beckoned him with one finger, chewing on the corner of her bottom lip as she smiled, "You have to come closer, handsome. You can't get your treat from all the way over there."

'_Come on, just a little closer and you're in range_' Vine thought, keeping the façade up. But once he got a whiff of the perfume, Green Arrow's pace quickened, and soon he was right in front of her. Pressing her chest into his she kissed him on the jaw, tracing her nails across his throat before jabbing a pressure point.

The moment the older man crumpled Vine pushed him off, irritably wiping her mouth as Robin dropped from a nearby tree, net in hand. "You're damn lucky I know pressure points, Greyson, otherwise you would have had rape on your conscious." She spat on the ground, rubbing her lips furiously, "I can't believe Bats _kept_ this crap. Didn't you read the warning label? That shit gets stronger with shelf life."

Robin raised an eyebrow, "The gloss is off…what are you doing?"

"I kissed_ stubble_. I can't get the damn feeling off. You owe me big, damnit. _SHIT_ it won't go away!" He chuckled and brought her hand away from her mouth, kissing her on the lips gently before removing her mask. "Better?"

She removed his as well, "Just like old times…" she pecked the corner of his mouth, "You're going to regret this later, aren't you?"

"I don't care." He kissed her again, but she drew away and replaced his mask before returning her own, "You will when it wears off. Now; let's get this idiot back to headquarters, yeah?"

~Young Heroes In Love~

"We missed you at the premiere." Robin remarked casually as he landed on the rooftop with a soft _THUD_. Toxic Vine scoffed, "Sure, I'm a real hero. A great addition to Teen Titans." Dropping the sarcasm she looked down as she kicked her heels against the side of the roof, "You know…this makes two JLA's I can't show my face to, now."

"Green Arrow doesn't blame you, Vi." He sat beside her, reaching over to gently remove her mask. Vine turned out of his reach, "You have no idea how awkward that was. For crying out loud, he's old enough to be my own dad…"

"But if you hadn't used the perfume—"

"Yeah, I get it, silver lining." She snapped. Silence fell, Vine still refusing to look at Robin. "Was I right?" Vine asked at last. Robin cleared his throat, and she sighed, "I'll take that as a yes…"

"Vi…"

Jumping down onto the fire escape she spared him a tender smile, "It's okay, I get it. You have your world, I have mine."

~Awakening~

"_NO!" Wally's form dissipated into smoke, and with dread Robin realized who was left. "Vi!"_

Violet Parker looked up from her book, confused. She could have sworn…

"Robin?"

No reply. She walked to her window and opened it, the cool night breeze blowing her blonde hair out of her face. The city was the same—no Boy Wonder in sight.

_Robin looked around the flat for any sign of the smoke, "Vi, you need to get out of here. You're in danger!"_

Now she _knew_ she was going crazy. Violet walked to where she'd heard his voice, "Danger? From what? Richard?"

Without warning, the smoke came, billowing out of her vanity like ivy. Shrieking, Violet tried to hold it back with a wall of plants, but the smoke kept coming. "Richard!"

"_Vi!"_

Just like that, Robin was back in the cemetery, the smoke spiraling around him. He could just make out his parents' graves, an empty one labeled 'ROBIN' beside them. The smoke burned his nostrils and throat, and he coughed—fanning it away did little good.

Without warning the smoke materialized into half-forms of each of his friends.

"_You couldn't protect us!_" Accused the smoke-Wonder Girl.

"_You were never there when we needed you!_" Added the smoke-Aqualad.

The smoke-Violet's whisper of, "_I trusted you…_" was barely heard over smoke-Wally's cry of, "_What kind of leader are you?_"

"I never asked to be the leader. I never asked for any of this. I'm not responsible for you!" Robin cried, ducking away from them. Closer and closer to his grave they crowded, and with a final shout he fell into white abyss. "Leave me alone!"

Violet was trapped, nothing but black in all directions. "Where am I?"

'_Where you can be alone,_' boomed a voice, '_No one to tell you where to go, who to see, who not to love. Just you and your imagination. Forever._'

"That sounds….nice…" It was so _very_ tempting, but something held her back. A name. "I'm thinking of things that start with the letter 'R'…can you think of anything, voice?"

'_Perhaps a rose, from a rolling hillside._' As the voice spoke, she found herself on a grassy hilltop, surrounded by rosebushes and wearing a beautiful summer dress.

Violet made to pick one, but a bird flew onto it, cooing. "How strange, voice," she laughed, "It almost sounds as though that bird's saying my name. Don't you hear it?"

'_I hear nothing. Just a bird._'

"Listen closer, voice. 'No, Vi, no.' What a strange bird."

As the bird kept it's cooing, the wind picked up, the plants started quivering.

Reality began to fall back into place.

"Thinking of things that start with the letter 'R'…"

"Dude, it's too late. He got to her, Dick." Wally sighed, attempting to comfort their leader. "No, look, she's waking up." Aqualad pointed to the grass as it swayed around her like a heartbeat. "Start with the letter 'R'…" She muttered before her eyes shot open. She sat bolt upright, "Richard!"

"You're okay," Robin breathed a sigh of relief. He raised a hand as though to brush against her face but decided against it, instead standing and offering her a hand. The plants helped push her up, and Robin smiled at her before turning towards the others, "Let's get out of here."

"But how?" Aqualad asked. The ground shook, breaking apart before them as the Antithesis materialized. "Through that."

"Oh shitake mushrooms…" Violet muttered, pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

"He doesn't control us. We have the power…We can do this. _Together_, we can do anything." Robin stuck his hand out, and the others followed suit before running off at Robin's cry of, "_**Titans TOGETHER!**_"


End file.
